A large crowd turned out to CarriageWorks
for the City of Sydney Community Forum on North Eveleigh on July 26th 2008, following a
strong push by Clover Moore in Lord
Mayor Letter to Residents about North Eveleigh. Presentations at the
forum covered the RWA’s North Eveleigh Concept Plan, the City of Sydney’s response to it and the Sydney University’s
2020 Master Plan proposals for the site. Responses to the presentations were
provided by the National Trust on heritage issues and by REDWatch on resident’s
concerns. This was followed by questions from the floor where residents took
the opportunity to raise some of their concerns with the University. The issues
covering the site have been well covered in the subsequent Sydney Morning
Herald article Battle stations for Eveleigh.
In her subsequent eNews item What
next for North Eveleigh?Clover Moore
reported on the meeting and encouraged the community to continue to lobby on
the issue.

The University has presented proposals for the site which
would have less impact on the surrounding community, especially in terms of
traffic, than the full blown commercial and residential developments envisaged
in the RWA’s Concept Plan. The dilemma is that the RWA objective is to get the
maximum return from the site to minimise the requirement for state government
funds to go towards upgrading Redfern Station. It is hence in the interest of
the RWA and the state government to have buyers, willing to pay top dollar to
build the maximum density allowed, vying to purchase the site. If the
University is to buy on the open market, it will have to compete with those
interests and pay the higher price for more density on the site than it says it
wants. Residents’ fear that if the University is as committed to purchasing the
site as it has indicated, but has to buy at the price for the maximum allowable
density, then the pressure will be on the University to make use of the density
that they have had to pay for.

The solution flagged by Clover
Moore is to try and broker a deal between Sydney University
and the state government, where the University does not pay for the right to
develop floor space it does not need, with the shortfall in income to the RWA
for the station upgrade, to be covered by the state government as is normally
the case for upgrade costs for railway stations. Clover advised the Blacksmith
Open Day that she has secured a meeting with the Premier in late August for the
University to discuss the issue with the Premier. There is a local government
election on and Clover of course is not part of the state government, despite
all the pictures of her with the Premier that have appeared in recent Council
publications. The strategy is sound provided the University pays an appropriate
price and arrangements are locked down so the University actually delivers what
it promises. To succeed it also needs the support of those within the ALP and
the University has been slow to brief the local ALP MPs on its plans. Briefings
on the University’s 2020 Master Plan have now been arranged and hopefully the MPs
can assist in delivering the lower density
University solution as
well the government upgrade of Redfern station.

On 20th August 2008, Minister Sartor made a
walk around of the North Eveleigh site with
representatives from the RWA, the DoP, consultants and a selection of local
residents that had made objections. This followed a presentation to the Minister
of the project by the RWA and their consultants and discussion of the issues of
concern. Residents will be pleased to hear that DoP have been looking at the
Traffic study and further work is being done on this. The issues raised in the
submissions go back to the RWA for their response. The RWA revealed that they
are already working on changes to accommodate some of the objections. The RWA
is looking at the possibility of a park at the western end of the site and
redistributing that floor space elsewhere, they are also looking are
re-orientating the building to the east of the paint shop. A heritage
interpretation strategy is also being prepared. One of the issues explored at
length was the feasibility of moving the western entrance to the site further
east to avoid problems with cars cutting into Queen Street bit this is difficult given
the drop into the site from Golden Grove or Forbes Streets. Hopefully there
will be an opportunity for some further discussion between the RWA and
objectors on their revised plans prior to them going back to the DoP for
further consideration. It is not expected that the changes would go on public
exhibition through the DoP.

Sydney University Opens up to Residents – Saturday 23rd
August 2008

At the CoS North Eveleigh Community Forum, Pro Vice
Chancellor Richmond Jeremy announced
that the University would hold a walking tour and information session on
Saturday 23rd August. The University is advertising this event and
inviting the community to find out more about the University and make their
comments on the 2020 Master Plan. A statement from the University says:

The University of Sydney’s
Draft Campus 2020 Masterplan envisions a revolutionised and reinvigorated
University; providing innovative spaces for learning and teaching, a forward-thinking
approach to sustainability, and an inviting and accessible space for local
residents and the wider community.

The University invites members of the local
community to hear more about the Draft Campus 2020 Masterplan by attending an
information and feedback session on Saturday 23 August. You will also have the
opportunity to take a tour of public domain improvement works, innovative water
and energy-saving green buildings, improved pedestrian and cycling links and
areas for conservation throughout the University.

Community comments on the draft Masterplan
are important to the University and it is seeking your feedback and suggestions
to assist it in finalising the Draft Campus 2020 Masterplan.

The community session is focused on the
overall draft Masterplan. The planning for specific University precincts is in
its very early stages and the University will consult with the community on
these as it develops its ideas in more detail. …

The University is here for all of us to
enjoy. Come in, explore and enjoy all the University has to offer.

Environmentally responsible -
Protecting the environment for the future, by designing and constructing
environmentally sustainable buildings, utilising new and innovative
technologies.

Open to the community - Providing
educational, cultural and social activities for all as well as encouraging
public access to our attractive landscaped spaces.

Respectful of our heritage -
Acknowledging the past and caretaking for the future, by ensuring the proper
integration of new buildings of advanced design and sensitive landscaping with
heritage buildings.

Walking Tour of the
University – There will two walking tours one at 1pm and the other at 3pm. Tours will depart from the Shepherd St Boardwalk near the
Abercrombie St entrance at these times and finish up at the Holme Building.
The tours will last for about 45 minutes and on them you will see some of the
recently completed environmental projects, public domain improvement works and
new buildings and learn more about the University’s plans for the future.
Places are limited and the University encourages you to book before the day by
contacting Lauren at Elton Consulting on 9387 2600 or email lauren@elton.com.au.

Drop In Information
and Feedback Session between 12pm-4pm – This will be done at the Holme Building
(next to the Footbridge Theatre). You will be able to view information on the
draft Master Plan and talk through details with members of the project team.

The specific areas
of the Master Plan where the University is seeking input from the community
include:

How the University can best work with the
community to inform, and consult on the development of the Master Plan and the
renewal activities on campus

How we can limit any impacts of works on the
local community e.g. traffic, site clearing and construction

The key features you would like to see in our
campus of the future including:

o
Environmental sustainability initiatives

o
Building design and quality

o
Open space.

How you currently use the University’s
facilities and grounds

How you would like to use the University’s
facilities and grounds in the future.

Further Information
- The Draft Campus 2020 Master Plan is available to download at http://www.usyd.edu.au/ab/about/docs/Campus_2020_Master
Plan.pdf. The University realises that not everyone will be able to make
the event, so it is currently developing a website containing information on
the draft Master Plan and a feedback function. You can email
community2020@usyd.edu.au to be advised when the website goes live.

We are advised that the University is not yet in a
position to display and get community feedback on its Abercrombie Street Major
Project proposal so all this information will not be on exhibition on the day.
One of the major community concerns about the RWA’s Concept Plan was the
Traffic Impact Statement. The consultants who did that study were also doing
work for the University on their plans. At the North Eveleigh Forum the
University revealed that it had hired new traffic consultants to work on their
Traffic Impact Statement. Residents have recently seen pedestrian counts being
undertaken, which were one of the major omissions from the earlier study, it is
not known if this was for the University or for follow up work required by the
DoP for the North Eveleigh assessment. We
understand that traffic and pedestrian issues are issues the University wishes
to discuss with people on Saturday.

These Sydney
University events will
provide residents with the opportunity to find out more about what the
University proposes. In addition it is an opportunity to start exploring how
the University can work more closely with the community around it to deliver
mutually beneficial solutions and an opportunity for residents to clarify how
they can make use of the University grounds, services and facilities and to
talk about what they would like to see in the future. As well as the agenda
items that the University has listed a number of issues were raised by
residents at the North Eveleigh Forum. It will be interesting to see how the
University will responded to issues such as the need to find better parking
solutions so the expensive Seymour Centre car park does not sit virtually empty
while local residents are parked out by students and staff.

Students and staff are issued with cards to borrow from
the library and use other University facilities and at the CoS
forum Richmond Jeremy mentioned a
new system for using bikes within the University based on swiping your card.
Residents however don’t have access to these cards so how might this bike system
be expanded so it could also be used by surrounding residents and how might it
be integrated with surrounding public transport? Why should students need to
walk from Redfern Station say to the university perimeter to access a bike to
ride to the other end of campus? It would make much more sense if they could
pick up a bike directly from near Redfern station. If the City of Sydney and
the state government came on board a scheme could be developed that not only
operated for those headed towards the University but a bike-share system for
local residents and those working in the area. These are the kind of issues that
you might like to raise with the University.

If, in keeping with the RWA / NSW government method of
financing, Sydney University ends up funding the bulk of the Redfern
Station upgrade through its purchase of North Eveleigh
maybe it will have leverage as the adjacent developer for getting a train-bike
interchange built in to the yet unseen plans for Redfern station!

When the RWA /
ATP issued Wrought Artworks, the current occupants of the ATP Blacksmith’s
shop, a Notice to Quit earlier this year they probably did not realise they had
opened the proverbial Pandora’s Box. The original Development Approval for the
establishment of the Australian
Technology Park
was based on agreements between the railway workers, their unions and state government
to maintain working heritage technology at the site along side the new
technology. To fulfil these provisions for the preservation of heritage on the
site the government’s Development Approval for the establishment of the ATP specifically
referred to the occupancy of Wrought Artworks in the Blacksmith’s shop not as a
tenant but as a condition of the approval! Many of the documents surrounding
this background can be found on REDWatch’s website Save the ATP Blacksmith.

Trying to force
out the Blacksmiths has brought out into the open the original arrangements and
questions about how the ATP has handled its heritage obligations under that
approval for the Blacksmith shop and across the rest of the ATP site. It also
raised the questions of what might happen in the future if the Blacksmith Shop was going to be treated as commercial space
rather than as part of the originally envisaged heritage fabric of the ATP. The
RWA / ATP did not appear to know that the reason no lease exists is that the
ATP had never countersigned and returned a lease that Wrought Artworks had
publically signed with State Rail and then with the ATP. Wrought Artworks even
have photos to prove it! The RWA / ATP ran the argument that Wrought Artworks
had refused to sign a lease and Wrought Artworks say that until the week before
the open day no lease had been offered.

The proposal for
an open day and the call for support around it (Wrought Artworks Request for Support for
Sunday 17th August 2008)
put further pressure on the RWA / ATP. That the last Wrought Artworks open day
had been opened by Premier Bob Carr only increased the contrast between the
past and the present. Initial discussions about arrangements for the open day
saw the ATP insisting that organisers could not use the area zoned as public
space next to the Blacksmith shop, that any music was prohibited and that
thousands of dollars needed to be paid to the ATP to cover security, cleaning
and toilets.

The proposal for an open day and the call for support
around it (Wrought
Artworks Request for Support for Sunday 17th August 2008) put further pressure on the RWA / ATP. That the open day to
celebrate the site's history and to recognize its human heritage, particularly
the contrbution of its employees, in 1999 was supported by Premier Bob Carr, who
launched the Eveleigh Employee register for Dr Lucy Taksa, illustrates the stark
contrast between the past and the present. Unlike the event in 1999 and the second Open Day hosted by ATP and the Sydney
Harbour Foreshore Authority during Heritage Week in April 2001, to launch the
video: Steam Power (produced by Dr Taksa and Summer Hill Media), in 2008
initial discussions about arrangements for the open day saw the ATP insisting
that organisers could not use the area zoned as public space next to the
Blacksmith shop, that any music was prohibited and that thousands of dollars
needed to be paid to the ATP to cover security, cleaning and toilets.[Note the original update wrongly stated that the last open day had been organised by Wrought Artworks. We have corrected the paragraph above to provide details of previous open days.]

In the last couple of days before the open day
ATP resistance to the open day dissipated and discussions started between
RWA / ATP and Wrought Artworks about the terms of a lease. This followed the ATP making an offer of a lease in the
ATP Letter to Wrought Artworks 12th August
2008 (96KB
PDF) and Wrought Artworks’ publically stating their response to RWA /
ATP media statements in Wrought Artworks Rebuttal of Robert Domm's
Statements. The
proposed lease does recognise the heritage role the blacksmiths play and full
commercial rent has not been requested. So while the Notice to Quit has not
been withdrawn, there are negotiations for a lease which would allow Wrought
Artworks to continue to operate its business from the site and to continue the
operation of the heritage equipment. A lease for the Blacksmith Shop is not likely however to result in the broader
RWA / ATP addressing their heritage obligations on the site. Moving from being
part of the development approval to being on a commercial lease probably
removes Wrought Artworks from some of the provisions of the original
arrangements and makes them a tenant albeit with special consideration. This is
why the former workers pushed for the public meeting on the open day to also focus
on the governments heritage responsibilities on the broader Eveleigh site.

Organisers
estimate that at least two thousand people took the opportunity to visit the
Open Day at Eveleigh Locomotive Workshops in the Australian Technology
Park during Sunday August
17th 2008. Visitors went on guided tours of the operational heritage
Blacksmiths shop and showed their support for the ongoing operation of Wrought
Artworks and ongoing heritage operations on the site. Following initial
problems with the ATP management the day went off with out any problems and
included musical entertainment which had been earlier banned by ATP management.
Many former workers took the opportunity to return to the site and took the
opportunity to look around the former Eveleigh rail yards and reminisce with
former work mates. One visitor who made the trip to see the Blacksmiths Shop was 97 years old. You can see more in the post
Open Day Media Release The Eveleigh Locomotive Workshops Open Day
Success.

While the initial
focus of the Open Day was the Notice to Quit served on Wrought Artworks, a
range of other heritage issues needing to be addressed by government across the
former railway site were raised by speakers. Some of these include:

The state government, RWA and ATP not meeting
their heritage obligations for the heritage equipment on the site, especially
those provided for the development approval establishing the ATP.

The ongoing operation and maintenance of the
heritage equipment at the ATP.

The continued preservation of the Large Erecting
Shop as a functioning heritage shop
rather than heritage operators being evicted and it being adaptively reused or
replaced with the RWA’s zoned 12 story building.

The proposed removal from the Paint Shop at North Eveleigh of heritage rolling stock and
other heritage equipment, without there being appropriate facilities for the
equipment to move to, so that the RWA has vacant possession to get it ready for
sale.

Opposition to the RWA’s plan to have 4 storey
apartment building constructed up through the existing Paint Shop.

An appropriate use for the Chief Mechanical
Engineers building currently proposed to be subdivided into residential units.

The Lack of any Heritage Interpretation Strategy
for North Eveleigh

Any further degrading the heritage values of the
site by honouring the sites rail heritage in the redevelopment of North Eveleigh.

The Public
Meeting unanimously passed a resolution calling for the RWA / ATP to withdraw
the Notice to Quit on the ATP Blacksmiths (while it still stands any
negotiations are under duress), for discussions with the NSW Premier Morris
Iemma about the protection of heritage on the site and for consideration of a
National Heritage listing. The meeting also called for an interim Green Ban on
the site and for government and business not to enter into any agreements that
would adversely impact on any remaining heritage on the site until the
achievement of a long term process for protecting the former railyard’s heritage.
This is the full text of the Resolution from the Public Meeting at The
Eveleigh Locomotive Workshops Open Day Sunday 17th August 2008

The Friends of Eveleigh August 2008 Newsletter (1169 KB PDF) can be downloaded from the
REDWatch website. This issue, to coincide with the Blacksmith Shop Open Day, covers the re-submission of the
lodgement for a new National Heritage Listing for the Large Erecting Shop, and news about restoration work on the Garratt
6029 Cab for ARHS (ACT) and of the L516, both of which are currently being done
by volunteers and workers at the Large. Alive and Active is the theme for the
FOE newsletter. While not mentioned in the FOE newsletter we hear that Eveleigh
is back to being used by RTM for over-nighting before their trips and that the
Eveleigh turntable is again being used to turn. All this underlines the
importance of Eveleigh to enable ongoing heritage railway operations.

Gordon & Elaine Syron & the Black Fella’s Dreaming Collection

The problems
facing Gordon and Elaine Syron and the Black Fella’s Dreaming collection were
raised at North Eveleigh Community Forum. Since this time we have been working
with Gordon and Elaine to try and find the assistance they need to complete the
cataloguing of the collection so they can hopefully find a public home for their
magnificent over 1400 painting collection, or at least the major works from it.

The RWA has
provided assistance to Gordon & Elaine to bring their collection to Sydney
and has provided accommodation for them on the North Eveleigh site which is due
to be sold in about six months, at which time they will need to find alternative
accommodation. The RWA has also provided substantial assistance to them to
catalogue the collection so there is a basis to value the collection and to
explore options for its future. The cataloguing task has taken longer than
expected and hence there was a danger that it would not be completed before the
building they were in had to be vacated.

We have
subsequently ascertained from the RWA that while it can no longer financially
support the cataloguing it can allow the Syrons to stay at the existing site
until the North Eveleigh site is sold. This
provides time for at least the cataloguing of the paintings to be finalised.
The RWA has indicated that it is also prepared to provide assistance in getting
the collection valued and in moving the collection when that time comes.

The next part of
the jigsaw puzzle is to complete the catalogue. One of the problems Gordon and
Elaine faced was that they did not have the computer skills needed to adequately
undertake the cataloguing task. While much work has been done, it still needs
to be bought together into a comprehensive final catalogue. We put the word out
through the Reconciliation NSW network and are pleased that from the responses Rona
Wade from UNILINC has
volunteered to assist in co-ordinating the finalising of the catalogue of
artworks and then to start to look at the broader collection of artefacts and
photos, many of which document key elements of Aboriginal history in Redfern.
UNILINC will also look at how it could help construct and host a website for
the collection so the material can be made available and handled in the way the
Syrons wish.

While UNILINC
will co-ordinate the cataloguing there may still be a need for some volunteer
support to work on the data entry and finalising the catalogue of artworks. If
so we will let everyone know and UNILINC will provide a web form for you to
register your interest.

Throughout this
process the Syrons need to make an income to keep up payments on their house
and to live as they no longer have an income from the RWA. This means that
Gordon needs to set aside time for painting, arranging exhibitions and selling
hopefully non-core works. As Gordon is also needed to provide information for
the cataloguing it will slow down the process. If you are able to provide any
assistance with income generating activities that will help the Syrons let us
know.

The next piece of
the puzzle is to find somewhere for the collection to be stored when North Eveleigh is sold. If the paintings are catalogued
then this can be a temporary arrangement until a final home is found for the
collection or parts of the collection. If the cataloguing of the artefacts and
photos is not complete by this time, which is the likely outcome due to the
size of the collection, then there will need to be some space for this process
to continue.

The Syron’s hope
is that it will be possible to find a public home / keeping place for the
collection in Redfern. A valuation of the collection will hopefully allow for
the collection to be purchased by a trust or organisation so that the collection
stays in the public domain rather than it being broken up and sold to private
collectors. This would allow for Gordon and Elaine to be paid for the
collection and have their future financial needs met. Gordon and Elaine have a
committee who are prepared to work with a possible buyer to help set up and
raise funds for such a keeping place. In The Keeping Place:
Mission Statement Gordon says:

"It is our belief that this collection
needs to be protected and catalogued and then displayed for public enjoyment.
This unique collection has historical importance and is of educational
importance," Gordon said. "In most other countries there is an Indian
Collection or a Jewish Museum or a Native American Museum of artwork - and we
need to have an Aboriginal Museum/Keeping Place re-established in Sydney to
capture and inform the Australian and international tourist markets."

This vision shares
much with the RWA’s proposal for an Aboriginal Cultural Centre, as found in its
Human Services and Employment & Enterprise Plans, which is why the RWA
supported the project. It also dovetails with the City of Sydney’s 2030 Strategy proposal for an
Australian Indigenous Cultural Centre which is still a few years off.
Alternatively it may be a proposal that could find support from bodies like the
Federal Indigenous Land Corporation or the NSW Land Council. Another option
could be for a philanthropist or a major company that is prepared to help set
up a body to create the Keeping Place.
Before these options can be seriously explored there has to be a catalogue of
the collection for people to start with.

This is an
amazing collection of significant works of major Aboriginal artists which has
take many years and considerable effort, knowledge and money to assemble from
scratch. Everyone needs to work together to find a keeping place for this
collection otherwise it will be broken up and lost to the public domain.

The Department of Planning has placed the Concept Plan Modification - Former CUB
Site, Broadway (MP 06_0171 MOD) on their website Major projects part 3A - On Exhibition
for comment until 1st September 2008. The DoP describes the
modification as to modify the Concept Plan approved by the Minister for Planning for
the following:

an additional 22,000m2 of GFA (resulting a
total of 257,000m2 for the entire site)

extending the site boundaries to include two
new buildings in Kensington Street
(Nos 18-20 and 42-44 Kensington
Street)

varying the mix of land uses across the site
to achieve a mix of 50% non-residential (minimum of 30%) and 50% residential
uses

redistribution of the built form by lowering
heights and reducing mass of buildings along southern boundary and increasing
the size of the commercial buildings fronting Broadway

The documents for the Modified Concept Plan can be found
on the DoP’s website at View
project documentation, the Frasers Broadway
website or inspected at the DoP, Information Centre, ground floor, Lands
Building, 23-33 Bridge Street, Sydney; the City of Sydney Council, Town Hall
House, 465 Kent Street, Sydney and UTS City Campus Foyer, Building 1, 15
Broadway, Ultimo. The latter has been operating restricted hours making
community access difficult.

Metro Strategy for CoS
Council Area – Comment until 5th September 2008

In the last
update we mentioned the release of the NSW government’s Metropolitan Plan – the Draft Sydney City Subregional Strategy
which is currently on exhibition. Geoff took the opportunity of going to the
“Talk to a Planner” session put on by the Department of Planning. For the hour
and a half he was there he was the only person present to talk to the planners
about the Strategy. Of major concern is that the Redfern section of the
Strategy is almost entirely based on the published RWA Plans. As a result
issues which the RWA has been unable to resolve with bodies like RailCorp or
the RTA are not covered in the strategy. This results in there being no
solutions proposed for dealing with the dissection of the area by the twin
arterial roads and the railway line. Increased traffic from the ports and
airport is predicted but there is no indication of if and how it will be
handled. The strategy avoids these problems by redefining Redfern so it covers
the RWA SEPP, areas of the ATP and North Eveleigh
and excludes the bulk of Redfern
Street (pp62-63)! Affordable housing which is a
key issue for the area gets little coverage. Neither does opportunities for
blue collar employment in the area.

Those with an
interest in urban planning might like to take the opportunity to make some
comments on the Strategy in particular on the unresolved state government
issues that impact the area.

The
AHC has been officially advised by the DoP that the total fees for the next
stage of their project application are $68,750. This includes a $66,000 fee and
$2,750 to advertise the application for public exhibition. In answer to a
recent question in Parliament from Sylvia Hale
about waiving the fee, the Treasurer answered – “I am advised:
The Redfern Waterloo Authority expects that the Department of Planning will
treat the Aboriginal Housing Company in the same manner that it treats all
other applicants seeking development on their land”. So get ready for
lots of Rock the Blocks and cake stalls to raise the money. Maybe even a big
fundraising thermometer on the AHC office facing the RWA offices? Maybe, now
the PCYC has declined to move to the National Indigenous Development Centre, the
RWA can make a sizable contribution to the appeal from the $500,000 it originally
offered to the PCYC if they relocated.

The problem of non notification of a neighbouring
development that confronted the residents of Cope St arises from there being no
requirement for the DoP to notify adjoining neighbours about a development next
door to them. Council is required to do this. REDWatch has proposed to Council
that they discuss the problem with the DoP to see if there can be some
agreement to ensure immediate neighbours to a development in the hands of the
DoP are notified in a manner similar to if the notification was handled by
Council. REDWatch has also suggested that as a courtesy to its ratepayers
Council could include notice of DoP projects on exhibition with its DA
Notifications. Council will often make reference to such projects at Community
Forums but should also make reference to them on their website and email
notifications during exhibition with of course an explanation that the project is
not being handled by Council!

The DoP website has also posted another application from
the ILC to modify their approval for the National Indigenous Development Centre
(Former Redfern Public School)
(MP 06_0267 MOD 2). The modification is for Approval is sought to permit
modifications to the George Street
facade of Building F, and minor amendments to internal configuration of building
F, including the addition of amenity and first aid facilities to the pool
terrace (Level 2). You can download the Application
covering letter (470 KB PDF), modification
application form (1.5 MB PDF), Architectural
Design Report (135kB PDF) and plans
(Building
F floor plans (925 KB PDF), revised
east elevation (3.1 MB PDF), site
plan (1.5 MB PDF), pool
deck (686 KB PDF)) from the DoP website. As some modification requests are
dealt with without further exhibition anyone who has concerns about the
modification should contact Kathryn Myles at the DoP on (02) 9228 6343.

Construction of the NIDC was formally started on August 19th
2008 by Commonwealth Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Jenny Macklin, who
announced that the federal government would contribute $24 million for the
centre's construction, about $5 million more than earlier estimates according
to the SMH story Indigenous
sports centre under way. Jenny Macklin and Frank Sartor’s media
release can be seen at $24
M FOR NEW INDIGENOUS YOUTH CENTRE IN REDFERN.

Many people around Redfern were stunned to see a report in
the SMH of 19th August 2008 that ILC Project Manager Mr Christian
Sanhueza was before the ICAC for alleged corruption prior to his employment by
the ILC. The SMH of 20th August in Accused
manager at work reports that: “The general manager of the corporation,
David Galvin, last night said reputable external project management companies
had overseen Mr Sanhueza's projects. "All variations subsequent to Mr
Sanhueza's employment had to be approved by an external project manager and not
by Mr Sanhueza. Consequently, the ILC has no concerns relating to this
project," Mr Galvin said.”

At the Inner West Community Forum the City of Sydney
advised that they are interested in feedback on the (July 2008) Urban Design
Study (UDS) covering Chippendale,
Camperdown, Darlington, West Redfern and North Newtown. The City has now posted
the amended copies of the UDS which correct known problems including fixing the
University / Darlington border. The Council especially
wants to hear from anyone who notices any errors or problems in the study. The
UDS will provide the basis for the new development controls that will govern
what can be built in the area so it is important that the study be correct. Please
have a look at what the study says exists in your street area and what it
proposes. If you see any problems or have any questions please contact Andrew
Thomas athomas@cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au.

CoS
Community Forum Reports

Following Community Forums the City of Sydney posts the presentations on the web.
For those unable to attend but wanting to get an idea of what was covered can
download the very large presentation
files. Below are the links to the recent presentations covering this area. Only
download if you are on broadband or have lots of time!

Leading into the Community Forum covering Darlington we
asked the CoS when the Local Action Plan’s “short”, and “short to medium”
priorities for Darlington will be implemented.
The LAP include items such as “Make the shopping strip in Abercrombie St a more
attractive and inviting community hub” (13), “Start discussing branding and
identity for Darlington” (14), look at “Car parking management around Sydney
University” (33) and “Improve pedestrian access to Victoria Park – Chippendale,
Darlington and Glebe” (15). We were advised that implementation of LAP
priorities for Darlington are not in the
budget for this financial year. We have hence written to Councillors asking
that if any projects are delayed that work on the Darlington LAP priorities be
bought forward.

The Local Area Traffic Management (LATM) Study covering Darlington has also been delayed and is now expected next
year. Given the concern about the Traffic Impact Statement produced for the
RWA’s North Eveleigh Major Project and the coming Sydney University Abercrombie
Street Major Project we have asked for the LATM to be bought forward if
possible.

With the election campaign underway the Darlington Branch
of the ALP is holding a meeting with Dr Meredith Burgman The
Labor Party's Lord Mayoral candidate and her team for the city of Sydney Council at the Hall in Holden
Street on August
23rd 2008 from 11:00am to 12:30pm. This is your opportunity to tell the ALP
candidates about the area’s issues that you want to see addressed. Based on
last election three of these people are likely to be on Council after the local
government elections so here is a chance to have your say irrespective of whether
you plan to vote for them or not.

The Redfern
Waterloo Chamber of Commerce is having a Business Forum on 26th August 2008 at
Mr Marys, 6.30pm 106-110 George Street, Redfern. Martin
Butterworth from Space Syntax will give a presentation on
Movement Economics. Martin’s specialty is in analysing movement patterns around
an area and then looking at how urban regeneration can be tailored to improve
economic activity. Given the major barriers to movement in Redfern Waterloo
from main roads and the railway lines, the Chamber thought it would be useful
to hear Martin’s perspective on these issues and how they affect our area.
Martin has experience of the area from work he has done for the Aboriginal
Housing Company. This meeting follows the RWCC AGM. You can download a membership
form to join the Chamber from www.rwchamber.com.au

The Bad Developer
Awards are an opportunity each year to give some appalling developers and their
developments the razzing they deserve, and to acknowledge those who are doing
their best to make NSW a better place to live. The Awards ceremony will be held
on the evening of Thursday 4 September. Please return nominations to Sylvia Hale MLC by Friday 29 August. For more
information www.sylviahale.org.au
.

The 2008 NCOSS conference will be focusing on the State
Plan and the role of non-government organisations (NGOs) in providing input and
expertise to delivering the targets set by the State Plan. The conference also
aims to provide an opportunity for the NGO sector to learn about how other
sectors are engaging with the State Plan. The conference is 26 September 2008.
For more information
State Plan: Which Way
to Social Justice?

“Essentially PEEPSHOW is an “open day” for visitors to
interact with the Chippendale community,” explains James
Winter – PEEPSHOW coordinator. “It aims to build a sense of
community in Chippendale and to showcase Chippendale's unique cultural voice.”
A website has been developed www.queenstreetstudio.com/peepshow.html
where residents, businesses and organisations can register their creative space
for inclusion into the PEEPSHOW event. If you are not in Chippendale and you
are feeling like a voyeuristic urban safari that exposes the secrets behind
closed doors of the creative industries, communities and personalities that
inhibit the suburb of Chippendale put PEEPSHOW, as part of the Art & About
Festival, on Sunday 19th October 2008 in your diary. More
information is available on the website and from james@queenstreetstudio.com.

The RWA produced a July
2008 RWA Update (630 Kb PDF) covering the
RWA’s major announcements last month. The update was again strong on promoting
what the RWA’s and government say they are doing for the area but short on
detail. There were many NGO service providers for example who were surprised at
the “highlights” list in the Outcomes
from first phase of Human Services Plan which were seen as having only
tenuous connections to the Human Services Plan. The RWA report back on Human
Services provided greater detail on the government side but many questions
still remain which hopefully will be answered when the RWA releases the
promised Evaluation Reports for the Human Services Plan Phase One and the
Evaluation for the Case Co-ordination project.